Nosara help and traveling partners..

i've been to nosara 3x, most recently this summer. what would you like to know?

 

are you renting a car? there are plenty of signs for nosara & guiones on the way. pretty much impossible to get lost.

also, what's your definition of "cheap"? plenty of places w/in walking distance, but since nosara has gotten really popular over the last 10+ years, cheap has become a relative term. check out http://www.surfingnosara.com/nosara-vacations/nosara-hotels for just a few of the options. each hotel you click on has a map showing where it is relative to the main stretch of beach, playa guiones. the cheapest ones are farthest away.

 

Ive been to the Tamarindo/Grande area and had a blast but not so cheap. I would like to hear from guys that have been to both Nosara and Playa Hermosa as to which would be the best place to go be able to walk from your room to the surf without breaking the bank. Also any other pros or cons of either place. Thanks.

 

I've posted this several times for others...

A friend of mine has a killer place right on the beach in Playa Grande and is a good central spot for travelling all over Guanacaste area. Not far at all from Nosara, Negra, Tamarindo, Avellanas etc...

My friends name is Allan and Kathy Keyes and they own "Villa de la Roca". Here's a link with some picts of their place..

http://www.vrbo.com/4280

You can rent out the whole house or the bottom is divided into two separate bungalows complete with full kitchens. Usually rents those out fairly cheaply. Killer pool in the front yard and from the back porch the views are insane! Call ahead though cause its a popular place!

Once you go there you won't go anywhere else! Allan and Kathy are really cool people and you will be surprised what you get for the money! Their house is walking distance from the main break in Playa Grande and on the right swell the reef in front of the house breaks killer!

Its about 25-30min from Liberia and if you need a ride Allan will pick you up. You can also rent a car right there in Tamarindo. Tamarindo is just on the other side of the river from Playa Grande.

Hit me up if you need anything...

 

You don't need help!!!! Just go bro. Tons of places to stay. Super easy. Don't even need to speak Spanish anymore... Buy the ticket, take the ride

 

No doubt about that.... its like going on vacation in Florida! Actually I think more people speak English in Costa than Florida!

 

Check Gilded Iguana, pretty cheap and a 3 mins walk down the road to the North entrance to Guiones. Will be back there in April for the fifth or sixth time. You can PM me with questions.

 

I used these guys for transfers to and from Liberia: http://gypsycabnosara.com/

$50 each way vs 120-150 for a cab, good easy service.

Kaya Sol and Gilded Iguana are both decent with some hostel-style rooms if you want to save a few bucks, and the Kaya Sol restaurant is great. I stayed in a studio style room with a/c at Harbor Reef on the other side of guiones and loved it. Any of the above are great deals compared to what you pay for crappy motels here. All within very short walk to the beach and well worth the convenience. Waves are awesome by my east coast standards, dream-like consistency. Next time I'm going to try going during or on the edge of rainy season for a little less crowding. It was a friendly and perfectly manageable scene but quite a few people on it in early December.

 

This is not a lie - there is an insane Dutchman who goes by "The Dutchman" who is dirty and has rotten teeth and who is worth tracking down - he speaks English well and can put you in touch with who you need to be in touch with. If you go to a bar in Nosara, he will be there, making tracking him down much easier.

Also, coconut harry is a d-bag, but many a fine tica works for him.

Easy on the point. The locals are cool sharing waves, but the point seems to be for ticos only. Plenty of good sandbar action all over. Nosara is a real sweet place. Better 15 years ago, but still sweet.

 

The Dutchman is a triply dude. Hitchhiking from the fiesta about 15 yrs ago he picked us up in his old land rover drunk as hell thought I was gonna die that night. Surfing nosara is a good website & the surf is going off right now! Good luck

 

As long as you are in Guiones, you can walk to the surf. The Enchanted Forest or Kaya Sol are probably the cheapest places to stay around there without basically sleeping outside. A lot of places are getting pretty expensive there, even Harbor Reef (which has gone downhill a little but gotten more expensive, go figure). Eat at Rosie's for breakfast.

 

It's easy.

 

Lots of places in Playa Hermosa to stay right on the beach. One of the most consistent places in Costa in terms of having waves, but very different conditions and vibe then Nosara. I am guessing you may find beach-side accommodations cheaper in Hermosa.

Hermosa with size is heavy, and hollow. Nosara with size is not heavy, more playful. The vibe in Nosara is more mellow. Hermosa has Jaco nearby, which has more nightlife action than Nosara if your in to that. Can be fun, in a kind of dirty way I like Nosara better but both places are fun, just different

If you rent a vehicle, there are places to go at both in the relative general vicinity to escape crowds. If you rent a board in Nosara, they may send a heavy security deposit debit to your credit card. If your Credit card has a good security check, they may reject it without your permission first. Happened to me at one place in Nosara. Rather than dealing with calling them, I ended up renting from Coconut Harry....he didn't do that, but I cant remember what arrangement I made.

I rented in Hermosa once, and no deposit was taken, but the board was junk.

Anyway, have fun!